Content Harvesting and Harmonizing Gateway

ABSTRACT

Described herein are embodiments that provide a gateway device dedicated for harvesting content from a content service and harmonizing the content in a content player with the harvested content. Thus, the dedicated gateway device provides a practical, low-cost gateway for downloading desired content wherever a network connection to the content service is available and without the need for the re-installation of a gateway application at each desired new location for content harvesting and harmonization.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is related to and incorporates by reference in theirentireties the following U.S. Utility Patent Applications all of whichare assigned to the assignee of the present application: U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 11/296,975, filed Dec. 8, 2005, and entitled,“WIRELESS ADAPTOR FOR CONTENT TRANSFER” (Attorney Docket No. BCS03802);U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/297,760, filed Dec. 8, 2005, andentitled, “WIRELESS ADAPTOR FOR CONTENT TRANSFER” (Attorney Docket No.BCS03803); U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/296,971, filed Dec. 8,2005, and entitled, “GRANTING GREATER RIGHTS TO STORED CONTENT,”(Attorney Docket No. BCS03804); U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/296,977, filed Dec. 8, 2005, and entitled, “AUTOMATIC CONTENT UPDATEFOR A TARGET DEVICE” (Attorney Docket No. BCS03805); and U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 11/296,990, filed Dec. 8, 2005, entitled, “HOTCONTENT UPDATE FOR A TARGET DEVICE” (Attorney Docket No. BCS03806); U.S.patent application Ser. No. 11/441,967, filed May 25, 2006, andentitled, “WIRELESS ADAPTOR FOR FACILITATING HANDS-FREE WIRELESSCOMMUNICATION FUNCTIONALITY” (Attorney Docket No. BCS04116); and U.S.patent application Ser. No. 11/441,968, filed May 26, 2006, alsoentitled, “WIRELESS ADAPTOR FOR FACILITATING HANDS-FREE WIRELESSCOMMUNICATION FUNCTIONALITY” (Attorney Docket No. BCS04117).

BACKGROUND

Portable content players and other devices capable of playing content,such as media like music or videos, are becoming increasingly popularand are typically designed to play the personal content of users. Userstend to use multiple media devices, such as an MP3 digital music player,wireless or cellular phone, personal digital assistant (PDA), personalcomputer, and a car audio system, Many of these devices are capable ascontent players for playing the personal content of the users.Typically, content harvesting or downloading to content player involvethe use of a personal computer (PC) that acts as a gateway forharvesting content from a content server and for harmonizing orsynchronizing such content between the PC to the portable content playerfor playback by the latter. Consequently, the PC has installed therein acontent gateway software that facilitates content harvesting from acontent server and content harmonizing with the portable content player.

Content harmonization is typically accomplished through a connectionbetween the portable content player and the gateway PC. As referredherein, content harmonization includes a synchronization of the contentstored in a content player with the content cached or stored in a hostdevice, such as the gateway PC or a content server, so that uponcompletion of the synchronization, the content player contains updatedcontent provided by the content cached or stored in the host device. Thetypical approach to harvesting and harmonizing content for a contentplayer has several drawbacks. First, the gateway PC requiresinstallation therein of a specific gateway software for contentharvesting from a content provider and content harmonizing with thetarget content player. This specific gateway software is dependent onthe particular operating system (OS) of the PC in which it operates. Forexample, if the PC is operating in a MICROSOFT WINDOWS, LINUX, UNIX, orMAC OS environment, then the gateway software must be WINDOWS-based,LINUX-based, UNIX-based, or MAC OS-based, respectively. Thus, a userwishing to employ a PC as a gateway to harvest and harmonize content fordownloading to a desired content player must have available a pricey PC,must actively identify the type of OS that the PC uses, and must installthe appropriate gateway software that is specific for the identified OS.Another drawback of the gateway PC is that it does not allow usage ofthe content player for an extended period of time without the need toaccess the gateway PC for content re-harmonization. Furthermore, theuser cannot use any PC for re-harmonization because: a) such a PC musthave the gateway software installed therein; and b) only the originalgateway PC that the user initially used to set up content harvesting andharmonization for the content player would have information about thecontent player and past harmonization instances to properly perform there-harmonization.

SUMMARY

Described herein are embodiments for a practical and low-cost gatewaydevice between a content server (of a content provider) and a contentplayer. The gateway device is dedicated to harvesting content from thecontent server and harmonizing the content player with the harvestedcontent. Unlike a typical PC, the dedicated gateway device in accordancewith various embodiments described herein is not required to be ageneral-computing device so as to run applications other than contentharvesting and harmonization. Thus, more economical components may beused to build the dedicated gateway device. By providing power andconnectivity from both the content server and the content player to thededicated gateway device, a user is then able to connect a contentplayer to the dedicated gateway device for charging and/or harvestingand harmonizing the content therein—all without the need for acumbersome device such as a PC and reliance on the OS and gatewaysoftware therein.

Accordingly, in one embodiment, there is provided a gateway devicededicated for harvesting content from a content service and harmonizingthe content with a content player, comprising: a first interfaceoperable to be connected to the content service to harvest content fromthe content service; a first memory storage operable to store theharvested content; and a second interface operable to be connected to acontent player for harmonizing with the content player so as to ensurethat the stored content is available in the content player for contentplayback.

In another embodiment, there is provided a method for employing adedicated gateway device to harvest and harmonize content with a contentplayer, comprising: initializing the dedicated gateway device forharvesting content; establishing a connection between the dedicatedgateway device and a content service to harvest content from the contentservice based on the initializing; the dedicated gateway deviceharvesting the content from the content service, the content is selectedfrom the initializing; the dedicated gateway device detecting aconnection with the content player; and the dedicated gateway deviceharmonizing with the content player to ensure that the harvested contentis available in the content player for playback.

In still another embodiment, there is provided a computer readablemedium on which is encoded program code for employing a dedicatedgateway device to harvest and harmonize content with a content player,the program code comprising: program code for initializing the dedicatedgateway device for harvesting content; program code for establishing aconnection between the dedicated gateway device and a content service toharvest content from the content service based on the initializing;program code for harvesting with the dedicated gateway device thecontent from the content service, the content is selected from theinitializing; program code for detecting with the dedicated gatewaydevice a connection with the content player; and program code forharmonizing the dedicated gateway device with the content player toensure that the harvested content is available in the content player forplayback.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments are illustrated by way of example and not limited in thefollowing figure(s), in which like numerals indicate like elements, inwhich:

FIG. 1 illustrates a system for content distribution, according to anembodiment;

FIG. 2 illustrates an example of the system for content distributionshown in FIG. 1, according to an embodiment;

FIG. 3 illustrates an operation environment of a dedicated gatewaydevice, according to an embodiment;

FIG. 4 illustrates a method for using a dedicated gateway device forcontent harvesting and harmonization, according to an embodiment; and

FIG. 5 illustrates a method for using a dedicated gateway device forcontent harvesting and harmonization, according to another embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

For simplicity and illustrative purposes, the principles of theembodiments are described by referring mainly to examples thereof. Inthe following description, numerous specific details are set forth inorder to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments. It will beapparent however, to one of ordinary skill in the art, that theembodiments may be practiced without limitation to these specificdetails. In other instances, well known methods and structures have notbeen described in detail so as not to unnecessarily obscure theembodiments.

1. System Overview

FIG. 1 illustrates a system 100 for content distribution according to anembodiment. The system 100 includes content providers 110, contentservice 120, network 130, a dedicated gateway device 140, and targetdevices 150 a-n. Although only one dedicated gateway device 140 is shownin FIG. 1, it should be understood that more than one dedicated gatewaydevices may be used for content harvesting and harmonization with aplurality of target devices. The content providers 110 include entitiesconfigured to provide content that may be played or otherwise consumedby users. Content may include: media such as audio, video, text;multimedia that includes two or more of audio, video and text; or othertypes of data. Examples of content include but are not limited to mediafiles, such as MP3 files, other types of audio files, video files,textual music play lists, and other types of files. Examples of contentproviders 110 include but are not limited to news providers (such aslocal and cable news television stations), television studios, moviestudios, music labels, online music (or other media) providers, andothers.

Generally speaking, the content providers 110 provide content to thecontent service 120, such that the content service 120 may provideseveral functions. One of the functions includes receiving new contentfrom the content providers 110 on a substantially regular basis. Anotherof the functions includes making the content received from the contentproviders 110 available to users. In addition, the content service 120may receive content from multiple content providers 110 to provide userswith a relatively large content selection. Users may obtain the contentmade available by the content service 120 through, for instance, one orboth of subscription services and on-demand services.

The content service 120 may also automatically organize content forusers and continually provide new content to users. In addition, thecontent service 120 may perform other functions, such as billing, userinformation tracking, historical data tracking, etc. It will apparent toone of ordinary skill in the art that the content service 120 mayrepresent multiple content services, each maintained or managed by adifferent entity or organization that provides such a service to theusers, whereby such a entity or organization may or may not also be oneof the content providers 110. Each content service 120 may include aserver 121 and a database 122 for storing user information and content.The server 121 may facilitate the downloading of content to the targetdevices 150 a-n used by the users. It will be apparent to one ofordinary skill in the art that the server 121 may include multipleservers and the database 122 may include multiple databases depending onthe size and complexity of the content service 120. For example, tosupport a relatively large number of users, several servers 121 anddatabases 122 may be needed to harvest content from the contentproviders 110 and provide content to users with minimal delay.

The network 130 may represent one or more data networks. The network 130may include one or more of private networks, public networks, such asthe Internet, wireless networks, such as satellite and cellularnetworks, and local area wireless networks, such as Wi-Fi or Bluetoothnetworks, wired networks, local area networks, wide area networks, andany other type of communication network.

The content service 120 may provide content to the target devices 150a-n via the network 130 and the dedicated gateway device 140. Thus, atarget device 150 a may download the content from the content service120 via the dedicated gateway device 140, which harvests content fromthe content service 120 and harmonizes and synchronizes with the targetdevice 150 a to download such content to the target device 150 a.Alternatively, a target device, such as the target device 150 b, mayalso download the content from the content service 120 without goingthrough the dedicated gateway device 140. The content service 120 andtarget devices 150 a-n are described in further detail with respect toFIG. 2. Examples of suitable target devices 150 a-n include but are notlimited to personal computers, personal digital assistants, wireless orcellular phones, car radio, home stereos, set-top boxes, MP3 players,portable video players, and other end-user devices.

2. Overview of Functionality and Advantages of Content Service

The system 100 provides a media experience for users without requiring auser to change conventional behavior to utilize the content service 120providing the media experience. For example, the system 100 allows auser to play his or her selected audio content, such as music stations,talk radio, personal content, etc., on one of several target devices 150a-n that the user may be using at any particular time, such as a carradio in the car, a cellular phone when the user is on the go, apersonal computer or home stereo at home. A target device may carrycontent selected by the user in a set of channels which are seamlesslyavailable throughout the day on any one of many target devices. Thesystem 100 manages the content and ensures the content is automaticallyreplenished as it is consumed. Furthermore, an interface that is thesame as or similar to a conventional device interface may be provided onthe target devices 150 a-n, so the user may play desired content on anytarget device in a relatively quick and easy manner.

According to an embodiment, the content service 120 allows a user toconfigure one or more sets of channels for one or more of the targetdevices 150 a-n. Each channel is populated with content from a contentprovider or content provided by the user, referred to as the user'spersonal content. A channel is a data set of content, which may be of aparticular type of content. For example, the content service 120 maymake available hundreds of stations of content or individual pieces ofcontent. Webcast radio and webcast television are some examples ofstations of content. The content service 120 may provide one or more ofthe stations of content to users as a subscription service, where one ormore stations are subscribed to by a user and the content for thestations is sent to one or more target devices for the user. In oneexample, one or more stations provide large or continuous blocks ofDigital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) statutory license compliantstreaming content. Some examples of individual pieces of content includesingle songs or albums, movies, video clips, etc. The content service120 may provide an on-demand service where a user may purchase anddownload individual pieces of content.

Furthermore, channels may include content of a particular type, such asa sports talk channel, a popular music channel, etc. A user mayconfigure a set of channels, hereinafter referred to as a channel set,for example, by selecting content provided by the content service 120and of interest to the user. The channels may include high-quality,digital content, which may be commercial-free in some instances. Achannel in a channel set may also include content from a user's personalcollection, such as audio files stored on the user's personal computer.This channel may be programmed by play list, genre, or artist, or anyother desired category or set of content.

A user may configure several channel sets, such that the user may usedifferent channel sets at different times. For example, a user maycreate a first channel set for everyday use, such as for commuting towork. This channel set may include a traffic and news channel, a sportstalk radio channel, as well as other channels. The user may create asecond channel set for long trips, which may include, for instance, aclassic rock channel and a comedy channel.

Content for the channels may be downloaded to one or more of the targetdevices 150 a-n from the content service 120. The content service 120may also refresh a target device with new content on a substantiallycontinuous or periodic basis. For example, after content in a channel ina target device is consumed by a user, such as after the content isplayed, or after content becomes stale, such as after a predeterminedperiod of time has lapsed, the content in the channel may be replenishedor replaced with new content as received from the content service 120 ornew content that was cached in the dedicated gateway device 140. Thisupdate of content on a target device may be performed automatically, andmay be beneficial for target devices 150 a-n that have limited storagefor storing content, such as a PDA, phone, or other device having arelatively small amount of storage space.

In addition, the target devices 150 a-n may each include an interfacethat is similar to or the same as a conventional user interface widelyused in at least one type of today's end user devices. Thus, a user maynot be required to learn how to use the interface of a target device.Furthermore, a common interface may be provided on several targetdevices 150 a-n that may be used by a single user to play content. Forexample, the common interface may be provided on a user's phone,personal computer, car radio, etc. Thus, the user may not need to learnhow to use different interfaces for different target devices 150 a-n.

The user interfaces of the target devices 150 a-n may emulate or includethe user interfaces of conventional radio or music players with channelpresets. The interfaces on the target devices 150 a-n may provide for“one-click” channel selection, similar to clicking a channel presetbutton on a radio. In one example, each channel may include contentpopulated with a type or genre of music pre-selected by the user, whichallows a user to switch with one click between channels similar toswitching between different radio stations on a radio. The interface mayalso allow a user to fast forward, rewind, or pause content.

According to one embodiment, the dedicated gateway device 140 allows auser to manage and configure channel sets and update content on multipletarget devices 150 a-n. The gateway 140 is described in further detailswith respect to FIG. 3.

3. Content Service and Initialization of Dedicated Gateway Device

FIG. 2 illustrates an embodiment of the system 100 for contentdistribution. The content service 120 is shown as including a managementmodule 123, a content distribution module 124, and an aggregation module125, in addition to the server 121 and the database 122 discussed withrespect to FIG. 1. As referred herein, a module includes one or moresoftware programs, applications, or routines stored on a computerreadable medium (CRM) for execution by at least one processor.Embodiments of a CRM include but are not limited to an electronic,optical, magnetic, or other storage or transmission device capable ofproviding a processor in the receiver with computer-readableinstructions. Other examples of a suitable CRM include, but are notlimited to, a floppy disk, CD-ROM, DVD, magnetic disk, memory chip, ROM,RAM, an ASIC, a configured processor, any optical medium, any magnetictape or any other magnetic medium, or any other medium from which aprocessor may read instructions. In addition, or alternatively, a modulemay refer to hardware configured to perform one or more functionsdescribed herein.

The management module 123 may coordinate information between multipleusers. For example, the management module 123 may receive channelconfiguration information from multiple users, which may include userselections of content for channels in one or more sets of channels forthe multiple users. The user selections and channel sets configured bythe users may be stored in the database 122 along with additionalchannel configuration information added by the content service 120, suchas permissions and special attributes or rules for content consumption,that is related to the user selections and configurations. The database122 is queried subsequently to determine the content to provide to theusers. In one embodiment, the management module 123 generates a webbased user interface which allows a user to log into the content service120, register with the content service 120 and set preferences, andconfigure channel sets.

In one embodiment for initializing the dedicated gateway device 140, auser connects to the content service 120 via the network 130 shown inFIG. 1, which may include the Internet 131 and/or other networks shownin FIG. 2, using a personal computer. The user provides user informationto the content service 120, which is stored in the database 122. Theuser information may include an identification (e.g., serial number) ofthe particular dedicated gateway device 140 that the user intends to usefor harvesting content from the content service 120 and harmonizing suchcontent with one or more target devices 150 a-n. During theinitialization or set-up of the dedicated gateway device 140, themanagement module 123 may prompt a user for channel configurationinformation, such as a selection of a content type for each channel.Examples of content that may be selected for a channel set may includegenre-oriented music stations, talk content, the user's personalcontent, etc. Genre-oriented music content may be selected from acatalog listing a relatively large number of stations or individualcontent provided by the content providers 110. In addition, a singlemusic channel may deliver a continuous set of music tracks on a targetdevice. Talk content may also be selected from a catalog of talk contentchannels, which may be updated periodically, such as hourly, daily orweekly. In addition, content from more than one content provider may beplaced in a single channel set. The user's personal content may bestored on the dedicated gateway device 140, which the management module123 may discover. As such, a user may sort through various content invarious manners and may move individual tracks of content or largeblocks of content to a channel in a channel set.

Accordingly, for example, the user may select news, traffic, and weatherfor channel 1, sports talk radio for channel 2, pop music for channel 3,alternative music for channel 4, classic rock music for channel 5, andclassical music for channel 6. The management module 123 stores the userselections in the database 122, and channels 1-6 are populated withcontent corresponding to the associated user selections, and relatedchannel configuration information added by the content service 120,using the content distribution module 124. It should be readilyunderstood that six channels have been described above for purposes ofillustration and not of limitation. Therefore, any reasonably suitablenumber of channels may be available for configuration without departingfrom the scope of the system 100.

Alternatively, the management module 123 may prompt the user for userinformation, and channels may be selected for the user based on the userinformation. Then, such channel selection information may be sent to theuser either directly or through the dedicated gateway device 140. Forexample, the user may provide demographic information or a selection offavorite artists. Several channels may be selected for a channel set forthe user based on this information. The user may select some of thechannels for a channel set. Default channels may also be provided. Also,several channel sets may be configured for each user.

In another embodiment for initializing the dedicated gateway device 140,the user may gain access to the dedicated gateway device 140 throughconnection having a user interface, such as a phone or a personalcomputer. The user then uses such a user interface to inputauthentication information (e.g., a number code or password) that waspreviously provided by the content service 120 in order to initializethe dedicated gateway device 140.

The content distribution module 124 sends content for channel sets toone or more target devices 150 a-n via the dedicated gateway device 140.Thus, once the dedicated gateway device 140 is set up or initialized bythe user, it may be connected to the network 130 to automaticallyharvest from the database 122 the content based on the channel contentconfiguration previously entered by the user and stored in themanagement 123—all without any further intervention from the user. Theharvested content then may be cached in the dedicated gateway device 140for future downloading or harmonization with one or more target devices150 a-n. Thus, the dedicated gateway device 140 provides a simple andstraightforward solution for harmonizing target devices 150 a-n withoutusing a personal computer with dedicated, OS-specific gatewayapplication software installed therein. Additional, the dedicatedgateway device 140 may be used anywhere there is an open, functionalconnection to the network 130 without any further need to install thededicated, OS-specific gateway application software at each newlocation. The content distribution module 124 may determine the contentto send to the dedicated gateway device 140 based on the related channelconfiguration information. For example, the content distribution module124 retrieves channel configuration information for a selected set ofchannels from the database 122. In addition, the content distributionmodule 124 may send content for the respective channels to the dedicatedgateway device 140 for downloading to one or more target devices 150a-n.

The aggregation module 125 receives, for example, content and play listsfrom the content providers 110 and stores the information in thedatabase 122, such that the content may be distributed to users asneeded.

4. Dedicated Gateway Device

FIG. 3 illustrates the dedicated gateway device 140, in accordance withone embodiment of the present invention. The dedicated gateway device140 includes a power interface 310, a power regulator 320, an optionalbattery supply 330, a device interface 340, a network interface 350, aprocessor or processing unit 360, a first memory 370 for storingoperating code of the processing unit 360, and a second memory 380 forstoring a gateway application and content harvested from the contentservice 120.

The power interface 310 provides external power to the dedicated gatewaydevice 140. For example, the power interface 310 may be a power inputjack, such as a 5-volt input jack, that receives power from an externalpower supply. The input power is then fed to a power regulator 320, suchas a voltage regulator, to ensure a constant voltage level is receivedby the dedicated gateway device 140. In lieu of or in addition to thepower interface 310, there is provided an internal battery supply 330for providing power to the dedicated gateway device 140 when theexternal power supply is inadequate or not available. The processingunit 360 represents one or more processors, such as microprocessors, forcontrolling operations of the dedicated gateway device 140. Theprocessing unit 360 executes programming code, such as firmware, storedin the first memory 370 for operating the dedicated gateway device 140.Any suitable CRM, such as a flash Read-Only-Memory (ROM) chip, may beused to implement the first memory 370. In an alternative embodiment,the first memory 370 may be embedded or included in the processing unit360.

The processing unit 360 also executes programming code stored in thefirst memory 370 for a gateway application to harvest content from thecontent service 120 and to harmonize with a target device 150 aconnected to the dedicated gateway device 140. The second memory 380 isalso used to cache or store content harvested from the content service120. As noted earlier, because the gateway device 140 is dedicated toharvesting content and harmonizing a connected target device 150 a withthe harvested content, a low-cost processing unit 360 with lowerprocessing power may be implemented in the gateway device 140 becausesuch a processing unit is not taxed with running other applications, aswith a typical central processing unit (CPU) in a convention PC. Thegateway application residing in the second memory 380 may include anupdate agent or component that generally receives content from thecontent service 120 and refreshes the content stored in the dedicatedgateway device 140 on a periodic basis. For instance, the update agentcaches content in the second memory 380 of the dedicated gateway device140. The cached content may include content received from the contentdistribution module 124 of the content service 120. In one embodiment,the transfer of content from the content distribution module 124 of thecontent service 120 to the dedicated gateway device 140 may be performedas a substantially automatic feature when the dedicated gateway device140 is connected to the content service 120 via the network 130, wherebythe user does not need to issue a transfer command. The update agent maycontrol the transfer of content to the dedicated gateway device 140 suchthat new content may be cached in the dedicated gateway device 140 fromone or more playlists. In addition, the update agent may control theharvesting of content to generally enable the new content to be storedon the dedicated gateway device 140 while staying within the limitationsof the storage capabilities of the dedicated gateway device 140 andmeeting the limitations of the storage capabilities of the targetdevices 150 a-n connected thereto.

As with the first memory 370, any suitable CRM may be used to implementthe second memory 380. Alternative embodiments are contemplated whereinthe first memory 370 and the second memory 380 may be implemented in thesame CRM, or each may be implemented in one or more CRM. The secondmemory 380 may have any desired storage capacity. For example, thesecond memory 380 has the same memory storage capacity as any one of thetarget devices 150 a-n, or one with the largest memory storage capacity,in order to store sufficient content for downloading to the targetdevices. In another example, the second memory 380 has more memorystorage capacity than that of any of the target devices 150 a-n forredundancy or accommodation of future target devices that will have morememory storage capacity. Furthermore, the second memory 380 may beremovable from the dedicated gateway device 140 so that different memorysizes may be swapped for insertion into the dedicated gateway device140.

The device interface 340 provides a connection to one or more targetdevices 150 a-n. In one embodiment, the device interface 340 includesone or more input/output (I/O) ports 344, e.g. one or more UniversalSerial Bus (USB) ports, and a device interface controller 342, such as aUSB host, for controlling the I/O ports 342 and allowing the connectionof one or more target devices 150 a-n to the dedicated gateway device140. In one embodiment, one or more of the USB ports may also be used toprovide content storage through a connected USB storage device (e.g.,any CRM with a USB connection) in addition to or in lieu of theavailable second memory 380. The device interface 340 also may act as apower charging station to charge power to a connected target device.Alternative embodiments are contemplated wherein the device interface340 is a wireless interface that provides one or more target devices 150a-n with wireless connection to the dedicated gateway device 140.Examples of a wireless connection include but are not limited Bluetooth(IEEE 802.15 specification) and Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11 specification).

The network interface 350 provides the dedicated gateway device 140 witha connection to the network 130, such as the Internet 13 1, forharvesting content from the content service 120. In one embodiment, thenetwork interface 350 provides an Ethernet connection, with an Ethernetport, to the Internet 131. In another embodiment, the network interface350 is a wireless interface that wirelessly connects to the Internet131, via an available wireless router and host such as a Wi-Fi hotspot.The network interface 350 also may provide power to the dedicatedgateway device 140 in addition to or in lieu of the power interface 310and the battery supply 330.

The dedicated gateway device 140 may also have a simplified userinterface that includes a reset mechanism, such as a reset button, andone or more visual indicators or displays 390, such as light emittingdiodes (LEDs), to indicate the status of the dedicated gateway device140. The reset button may be used to reset the dedicated gateway device140 in cases where the dedicated gateway device 140 becomesnon-responsive when connected to the network 130 for content harvesting,when connected to a target device 150 a for content harmonization, orboth. A reset allows the dedicated gateway device 140 to restartwhatever process it was running prior to “freezing up” or becomingnon-responsive. Examples of status LEDs include but are not limited toany combination of: a LED for indicating that a proper connection hasbeen made between the content service 120 and the dedicated gatewaydevice 140, a LED for indicating that content harvesting is in progress(i.e., content is being harvested from the content service 120 andcached in the dedicated gateway device 140), a LED for indicating that aproper connection has been made between the dedicated gateway device 140and a target device 150 a, and a LED for indicating that contentharmonization is in progress with a connected target device 150,

According to one embodiment of the present invention, the contentstorage functionality of the dedicated gateway device 140 may betransferred to an external device, such as a nearby PC or anotherdedicated gateway device, to which the dedicated gateway device 140 maybe wired or wirelessly connected via the device interface 340. Thus, anyharvested content is transferred to the external device by the gatewayapplication running in the dedicated gateway device 140.

5. Portable Content Device

One of the target devices 150 a-n may be a portable content device, suchas the cellular phone 142, PDA, MP3 player, and the like, may include anapplication 172 having a management module 174, an update agent 162, anda user interface 152. The management module 174 generally allows theuser to determine and send and receive channel configuration informationfor configuring selected channel sets to the content service 120, inmanners similar to those described above with respect to the managementmodule 123 of the server 121. In certain instances, the managementmodule 174 may be considered optional for the application 172 becausemanagement of the application 172 may be performed by dedicated gatewaydevice 140.

The update agent 162 of the cellular phone 142 generally controlsupdating of the content 181, which may include new content received fromthe content service 120 via the cellular network 132, the Internet 131,a wireless proximity network such as Bluetooth or Wi-Fi (802.11) asfurther discussed later, or any combination thereof, as routed from thecontent service 120 or through the dedicated gateway device 140. Forexample, the content 181 may comprise new cached content as receivedfrom the content service 120 as routed through the Internet 131 andcellular network 132, as shown in FIG. 2. In another example, thecontent 181 may comprise new cached content received from the dedicatedgateway device 140 via a wired connection or a wireless proximitynetwork.

The update agent 162 of the cellular phone 142 may also manage thereceipt of content from one or both of the content service 120 and thededicated gateway device 140. More particularly, for instance, theupdate agent 162 may control the receipt of one type of content from thecontent service 120 and another type of content from the dedicatedgateway device 140. For example, the update agent 162 may control thereceipt of content, such that, content required to be updated relativelyfrequently (hot content), such as traffic information, is received fromthe cellular network 132. In another example, the update agent 162 maycontrol the receipt of content such that hot content is received fromthe dedicated gateway device 140 before such content expires (withoutgoing through the cellular network 132 or any other wirelesstelecommunication network). In addition, the update agent 162 maycontrol the receipt of cold content, which are content that may beupdated less frequently, to be received from the dedicated gatewaydevice 140. In this example, the dedicated gateway device 140 maydownload the cold content from the content service 120. Furthermore,when the cellular phone 142 is connected to or otherwise interfaces withthe dedicated gateway device 140, the cold content may be updated on thecellular phone 142. It will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in theart that cold content, such as music, may also be downloaded to thecellular phone 142 via the cellular network 132.

As shown in FIG. 2, the cellular phone 142 is also depicted as includinga wireless interface 148, which may be used to connect to the contentservice 120 via hot spots 133, to the dedicated gateway device 140, toother target devices 150 a-n, to a home device 144, etc. to receivecontent for playback. The cellular phone 142 further includes a wirelessinterface 150, which may be used to transfer content 181 to the caraudio system 143 via the wireless adaptor 173. The car audio system 143may include a user interface 153 to allow users to control itsoperations. Alternatively, the wireless interfaces 148 and 150 maycombine as a single wireless interface that performs all functions ofthe wireless interfaces 148 and 150.

Playback of the content 181 may be controlled via the user interface 152of the cellular phone 142. For example, the user interface 152 mayinclude controls to enable the selection of a preset channel, to rewind,fast forward, pause, play, etc.

Although not shown, the cellular phone 142 may comprise a deviceconfigured to provide the functionalities of multiple devices. Forexample, the cellular phone 142 may include an MP3 player, PDA, camera,video player, etc.

The dedicated gateway device 140 is operable to first harvest and cachecontent from the content service 120 and then harmonize such contentwith a connected target device 150. Alternatively or in addition, thededicated gateway device 140 is operable to concurrently harvest thecontent and harmonize with a connected target device to download theharvested content from the content service 120 directly to the targetdevice 150.

6. Methodology

FIGS. 4-5 illustrate various methods for using a dedicated gatewaydevice to harvest and download content from a content provider to atarget device connected thereto, such as a portable content player, inaccordance with various embodiments of the present invention. Thesemethods are described with respect to FIGS. 1-3 by way of example andnot of limitation. Thus, it will be apparent to one of ordinary skill inthe art that these methods may be performed with systems and devicesother than those depicted in FIGS. 1-3.

Referring to FIG. 4 and the method 400 therein, at 410, the dedicatedgateway device 140 is set-up or initialized to authenticate thededicated gateway device 140 and enable a connection to the contentservice 120 for content harvesting. This initialization may be promptedby the user as described earlier.

At 420, subsequent to the initialization, the dedicated gateway device140 establishes a connection with the content service 120 via thenetwork 130. This connection may be prompted by the user providing aconnection between the dedicated gateway device 140 and network 130,whereby the dedicated gateway device 140 automatically seeks out thecontent service 120 over the network 130 for authentication andconnection.

At 430, once the dedicated gateway device 140 is properly connected tothe content service 120, it begins harvesting and caching content fromthe content service 120 in accordance with the initialization, forexample, in accordance with the channel configuration informationprovided by the user and stored at the content service 120. As notedearlier, the harvested content maybe cached in an internal memory, suchas the second memory 380, or in an external memory, as wired orwirelessly connected to the dedicated gateway device 140 via one or moreof the I/O ports in the device interface 340. Once the dedicated gatewaydevice 140 has completed harvesting and caching the content, it may bedisconnected from the content service 120.

At 440, the dedicated gateway device 140 detects a connection with atarget device 150. This notification may be automatically detected upona connection of the target device 150 to one of the I/O ports in thedevice interface 340.

At 450, the dedicated gateway device 140 harmonizes its cached contentwith the content in the connected target device 150 so that the targetdevice 150 has updated content for playback of the harvested content. Atthis juncture, the dedicated gateway device 140 is no longer connectedto the content service 120.

FIG. 5 illustrates an alternative method 500 for using a dedicatedgateway device to harvest and download content from a content providerto a target device connected thereto, such as a portable content player.The method 500 at 510 and 520 is similar to the method 400 at 410 and420, respectively. However, at 530, the dedicated gateway device 140detects a connection with a target device 150. This notification may beautomatically detected upon a connection of the target device 150 to oneof the I/O ports in the device interface 340. Then at 540, once thededicated gateway device 140 is properly connected to the contentservice 120 and the target device 150, it begins harvesting,harmonizing, and caching content from the content service 120 directlyto the target device 140 connected thereto without first caching thecontent in the dedicated gateway device 140. Alternatively, thededicated gateway device 140 also caches the harvested content forfuture re-harmonization with the target device 150, for example, in casewhen the content stored in the target device 150 becomes corrupted andneeds to be reloaded.

What has been described and illustrated herein are various embodimentsalong with some of their variations. The terms, descriptions and figuresused herein are set forth by way of illustration only and are not meantas limitations. Those skilled in the art will recognize that manyvariations are possible within the spirit and scope of the subjectmatter, which is intended to be defined by the following claims—andtheir equivalents—in which all terms are meant in their broadestreasonable sense unless otherwise indicated.

1. A gateway device dedicated for harvesting content from a contentservice and harmonizing the content with a content player, comprising: afirst interface operable to be connected to the content service toharvest content from the content service; a first memory storageoperable to store the harvested content; and a second interface operableto be connected to a content player for harmonizing with the contentplayer so as to ensure that the stored content is available in thecontent player for content playback.
 2. The dedicated gateway device ofclaim 1, further comprising: a reset mechanism operable to reset thededicated device by stopping one of content harvesting and contentharmonization.
 3. The dedicated gateway device of claim 1, furthercomprising: at least one visual indicator for indicating one of a properconnection with the content service, content harvesting is in progress,a proper connection with the content player, and content harmonizationwith the content player is in progress.
 4. The dedicated gateway deviceof claim 1, further comprising: a second memory storage operable to alsostore the harvested content, the second memory storage is accessible bythe dedicated gateway device via the second interface.
 5. The dedicatedgateway device of claim 4, wherein the second interface is a wirelessinterface.
 6. The dedicated gateway device of claim 1, wherein thesecond interface is operable to provide a wireless connection to thecontent player.
 7. The dedicated gateway device of claim 1, wherein thefirst interface is operable to be connected to the content service via awireless connection to a data network.
 8. The dedicated gateway deviceof claim 1, further comprising: a third interface operable to beconnected to one of an external power supply and an internal powersupply for providing power to the dedicated gateway device.
 9. Thededicated gateway device of claim 1, further comprising: a processingunit operable to control operations of the first interface, the firstmemory storage, and the second interface.
 11. A method for employing adedicated gateway device to harvest and harmonize content with a contentplayer, comprising: initializing the dedicated gateway device forharvesting content; establishing a connection between the dedicatedgateway device and a content service to harvest content from the contentservice based on the initializing; the dedicated gateway deviceharvesting the content from the content service, the content is selectedfrom the initializing; the dedicated gateway device detecting aconnection with the content player; and the dedicated gateway deviceharmonizing with the content player to ensure that the harvested contentis available in the content player for playback.
 12. The method of claim11, further comprising: the dedicated gateway device caching theharvested content in one of an external memory and an internal memoryfor the harmonizing with the content player.
 13. The method of claim 11,wherein the dedicated gateway device harmonizing with the content playercomprises: the dedicated gateway device caching at least some of thecontent in the content player as it is being harvested by the dedicatedgateway device.
 14. The method of claim 11, wherein establishing theconnection between the dedicated gateway device and the content servicecomprises: establishing the connection as a wireless connection.
 15. Themethod of claim 11, wherein dedicated gateway device detecting theconnection with the content player comprises: the dedicated gatewaydevice detecting the connection as a wireless connection.
 16. Thededicated gateway device of claim 1, wherein the first interface isoperable to be connected to the content service to receive contentconfiguration information for sending to the content player.
 17. Thededicated gateway device of claim 1, wherein the second interface isoperable to be connected to the content player to receive contentconfiguration information for sending to the content service.
 18. Themethod of claim 11, further comprising at least one of: sending contentconfiguration information to the content player; and receiving contentconfiguration information from the content player.
 19. A computerreadable medium on which is encoded program code for employing adedicated gateway device to harvest and harmonize content with a contentplayer, the program code comprising: program code for initializing thededicated gateway device for harvesting content; program code forestablishing a connection between the dedicated gateway device and acontent service to harvest content from the content service based on theinitializing; program code for harvesting with the dedicated gatewaydevice the content from the content service, the content is selectedfrom the initializing; program code for detecting with the dedicatedgateway device a connection with the content player; and program codefor harmonizing the dedicated gateway device with the content player toensure that the harvested content is available in the content player forplayback.
 20. The computer-readable medium of claim 19, furthercomprising: program code for caching in the dedicated gateway device theharvested content in one of an external memory and an internal memoryfor the harmonizing with the content player.
 21. The computer-readablemedium of claim 19, wherein the program code for harmonizing comprises:program code for caching in the dedicated gateway device at least someof the content in the content player as it is being harvested by thededicated gateway device.
 22. The computer-readable medium of claim 11,wherein the program code for establishing the connection between thededicated gateway device and the content service comprises: program codefor establishing the connection as a wireless connection.
 23. Thecomputer-readable medium of claim 11, wherein the program code fordetecting comprises: program code for detecting with the dedicatedgateway device the connection as a wireless connection.